Monday, 22 July 2013

The European Union called on Monday for the
release of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi and demanded democratic
elections as soon as possible.

Mursi has been held at an undisclosed military facility since
the Egyptian army removed him from office on July 3 and suspended the
constitution in the wake of street protests against his one-year rule.

The army says Islamist Mursi is being held for his own safety.

EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels issued a statement with
a list of priorities for Egypt, including an end to politically motivated
arrests and the release of all political detainees, including Mursi.

Mursi's family said on Monday it would take legal action against
the army, accusing it of abducting Egypt's first democratically-elected
president.

Supporters and opponents of Mursi clashed in central Cairo on
Monday and state television said one person was killed.

"Egypt has to move rapidly to an inclusive, democratic
transformation process, including by the holding of democratic elections in the
shortest possible time," the EU ministers said.

The EU also urged Egypt's interim authorities to take urgent
measures to tackle serious social and economic challenges facing Egypt and to
re-engage with the International Monetary Fund. The EU would continue to
provide support to Egypt to face these challenges, the ministers said.

Egypt's previous government had been negotiating a $4.8 billion
loan from the International Monetary Fund to help it get its deteriorating
finances under control. But it had baulked at taking unpopular austerity
measures.

Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood accuses the army of orchestrating a
military coup.

The European Union has avoided the term "coup" to
describe what happened but the ministers said on Monday that the armed forces
should not play a political role in a democracy and they called for a
transition that would allow a transfer of power to a civilian-led and democratically
elected government.

The Muslim Brotherhood said last Thursday it had proposed
through an EU envoy a framework for talks to resolve Egypt's political crisis.
The envoy, Bernardino Leon, said he had offered the EU's good offices to help
resolve the crisis, but said the term "mediator" exaggerated the
role.